Jean-Louis Debré and Laurent Kupferman: a republican debate over a table in Taokan

When Cerise brings together two men who are great thinkers, but also great gourmets in the 6th arrondissement, there’s only one destination: the restaurant Taokan on rue du Sabot

It’s over a plate of delicate langoustine & green apple ravioli that the discussion between Jean Louis Debré and Laurent Kupferman commences. The author who, with Jacques Ravenne, has just published (Fayard) an essay on the Republic’s Adventurers is an analyst who is passionate about freedom of expression, a subject that is also at the heart of the work of the president of the Constitutional Council: « freedom of expression is a fundamental right, which isn’t to say that it is total. For example, it mustn’t controvert human dignity, or another’s private life ». While a sea bass fillet steamed with fresh herbs is slipped onto the table to great and immediate acclaim, everyone shares their point of view on the ever-oscillating frontier between freedom of thought and freedom of expression. In France, excellent tables have always contributed to the debate of ideas, and good food – especially when it enhances two ancestral culinary experiences: French and Asian – is always a guarantee of points of view coming together. In this way, Jean-Louis Debré thinks it is urgent « to once again learn the republican pact, which has secularism at its heart, in schools » and Laurent Kupferman immediately adds that « secularism is the guarantee of free conscience for everyone ». An exchange which continues with the arrival of the dessert, notably the steamed coconut pearls, both soft and light in unparalleled measure. Ideas are like a good dish, they must be made manifest to garner support.
Over coffee, a conclusion becomes clear: haute cuisine and debating have a shared aim: combining ideas or flavours to achieve the very best.